


designers

by WattStalf



Series: FE Birthdays [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 07:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10271759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Oboro is curious about Forrest from the first time she sees him.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Birdschach](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birdschach/gifts).



> I wasn't originally planning on doing anything for Forrest's birthday, but I had this WIP so I decided I could finish it up in time.

She has a similar first impression as most people do. At first, all she can think about is how beautiful of a young woman this is, and it’s a different sort of fashion than she’s familiar with, but Oboro is curious and wants to know about it just based off of how stunning the young woman is.

Of course, that’s before she learns that the “young woman” is actually Leo’s son, but that doesn’t really alter much of her opinion. Forrest is his name, and he’s still every bit as beautiful and his clothes are something else entirely. She wants to ask him if he’s got his own personal designer, and if that’s someone who wouldn’t mind exchanging tips and tricks with her. He’s royalty, so he must get his clothes from somewhere special, and she wants to know everything.

However, Forrest ends up seeking her out before she has the chance to come up with an excuse to talk to him. “You like to make clothes, don’t you?” he asks her one day, and he’s almost blindingly beautiful up close. “I’m sorry, I probably should have introduced myself first.”

“It’s fine,” she replies. “You’re Leo’s son, right? Forrest?”

“That’s right! And you’re Oboro. Kiragi has told me a lot about you.”

“Has he?” She isn’t exactly surprised. Though a part of her was disappointed when Takumi and Corrin began to get closer, eventually announcing their marriage and having a son- with another child on the way- she can’t bring herself to resent either of them, or their son. She’s just happy to see Takumi so happy and with such a happy family, and by now, she can say she’s moved on from him. Kiragi is practically like a nephew to her now.

“He has! He says you’re a fantastic designer, and I was wondering if you’d like to talk about that with me? I’m not so familiar with Hoshidan fashion, and I thought I’d get some tips from an expert.”

She’s flattered to be referred to as an expert, but something about what he says stands out to her. “Tips? For...you?”

“Oh, of course! Unless you want to keep some things secret, but I wouldn’t be opposed to trading you some of my own secrets.”

“You mean you’re...a designer?”

“Yes! I made my entire wardrobe myself. I don’t know if you care at all to learn about Nohrian fashion, but…”

Perhaps there was a time when she would have rejected the idea outright, but a lot of things have changed, herself included, and she can’t deny her curiosity. “Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask you who your designer is for a while. I can’t believe it was you all along!”

“I’ve been designing for a while now,” he says. “I’d really like to learn about what’s popular in Hoshido, though!”

“Well, I’m more than happy to exchange secrets with you. I’ll teach you what I know and you can teach me.”

The two of them begin working together, with Forrest creating an outfit that Oboro has input on, and Oboro putting together something that Forrest walks her through. And so, the unlikely pair- that may have been more likely than anyone though all along- grow closer, working late into the night sometimes, and soon enough, Oboro begins to think of him as one of her closest friends. How odd, that she would come to be so close with Nohrian royalty!

~X~

But odder still is the way the relationship continues to develop, and the way things begin to change between the two of them. What starts as an innocent friendship, revolving around a mutual interest in clothing, begins to grow into something more, at least for Oboro. She doesn't notice it at first, or at least she doesn't want to, but she's had crushes before- or, one particularly strong one- and she can't pretend that there isn't something developing.

It's hard to be around someone so beautiful, male or female, and not be drawn in and caught up in their beauty, and Forrest...well, he's something else entirely. She should have known she would fall for him from the first moment she saw him, and that's not counting how much she loves their time spent together. It's been a long time since she's had someone she could share her interest with on this intimate of a level, and despite everything that suggests it shouldn’t, being with him feels like home. She supposes she should feel more guilty about having feelings for a friend of a friend’s son, but, going off the time he experienced growing up, Forrest is only a year or two younger than her.

And things never feel completely one-sided, especially when they find themselves working long nights on projects, neither wanting to stop when they get on a roll. If their hands brush or one of their gazes lingers for too long, she finds that conversations trail off, or, if there is no conversation, one starts abruptly and awkwardly.

There's something between them, alright.

She just doesn't know how to go about pursuing it. Even when she had feelings for Takumi, someone she saw every day and someone it was understandable to fall for, she didn't know what to do. I Now, with someone like Forrest- someone that, even if she's sure no one could blame her for falling for, people will just because of the “age gap”- she is even more clueless.

If Forrest really does return the attraction, she's sure that he’s just as unsure of what to do as she is, perhaps just as aware of how it may look. In fact, she wouldn't blame him if he were attracted to her but refused to act on it because he didn’t want the relationship to make him look bad.

That wouldn’t surprise her at all, but she  _ is _ surprised when he says to her one evening, “I think I might enjoy this time a little too much. I know you probably don’t want to hear that from me, but…”

“Why wouldn’t I wanna hear that from you?”

“Well, because...I think I’ve started to care about you as more than just a design mentor. You’re a very good friend, but I...admire you as something more.” He even blushes prettily, and she’s absolutely blown away by how adorable he is when he gets shy that, for a moment, she doesn’t really process what it is that he’s saying. It takes her a moment to realize that he’s saying exactly what she’s been struggling to put into words all this time.

“Forrest, I...well, I really don’t know what to say! For a while now, I’ve really liked you too!” She grins at him and he looks taken aback.

“You have? You do? I didn’t think you would…”

“But why not?”

“Well, because, I figured you would only think of me as some kid, and that you might be afraid of what people would say if we were…”

“And here I thought  _ you _ wouldn’t like me for the same reasons,” she says with a laugh. “But I care a lot about you. I don’t think anyone’s opinion would change that.”

“That’s how I feel! And I’ve...well, I’ve dealt with my fair share of people not having the nicest things to say about me. I always figured I could handle it, but I didn’t want to have to put you through something like that.”

“Forrest…” Her heart breaks hearing him say that, and knowing that he’s used to enduring such things, to the point that he would worry so much about her in return. “You don’t have to worry about me, or what people say about me. I don’t care! And if anyone has anything to say about you, then they’ll have to deal with me!” She gives him a confident smile to reassure him, and he beams.

“And I’ll defend you as well,” he replies. “No matter what.”

There is still much for the two of them to figure out, even now that they’ve addressed their feelings, but Oboro is just happy to know that her feelings are returned. Really, she doesn’t care what anyone has to say, or what happens from here, just as long as she and Forrest are happy. She’s just glad to know that she has him, and that he has her, from here on out.


End file.
